Harry R. Jackson, Jr.

As founder and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition (HILC), Bishop Jackson has declared that the church and its leaders must lead the way to protect America’s moral compass and heal our nation. Through his, HILC has become an agent of healing to our nation by educating and empowering churches, community and political leaders to make grassroots influence in their communities, states and our nation. His radio commentary “The Truth in Black and White” can be heard daily on 400+ stations nationally.
Jackson is leading researcher on the black church. High Impact African American Churches, co-authored with George Barna, was nominated in 2005 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s Gold Medallion award and received the Silver Medallion award. In addition, Jackson was also named one of the top 50 most influential Christians in 2005 by the Christian Post.
Jackson has appeared as a guest on The Tavis Smiley Show, Tony Brown’s Journal, The O’Reilly Factor, Britt Hume’s Special Report, National Public Radio, CBS Evening News, BET Evening News, 700 Club, and CBN News. He has been featured in articles in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Chicago Defender.
Bishop Jackson is Senior Pastor of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, DC area with 3000 attendees and serves as a regional Bishop in the Fellowship of International Churches (FOIC). He has authored several books including The Black Contract with America on Moral Values. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from prestigious Williams College and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. His secular work experience includes positions in several Fortune 500 companies. For more information, visit www.thetruthinblackandwhite.com.

Shante had a lot of things going for her as she finished middle school. She was bright, attractive and talented. Her parents, Glenn and Sheri, had worked hard to ensure she could have a better life than they had had growing up. But both were uneasy with the public high school that Shante was zoned for in Prince Georges County. Although its the highest income majority-black county in the United States, it had a high school dropout rate more than 10 points higher than neighboring Montgomery County.

If we expect kids to be losers they will be losers; if we expect them to be winners they will be winners. They rise, or fall, to the level of the expectations of those around them, especially their parents and their teachers.

The South Carolina decision to remove the Confederate Flag from the State House was an important and timely decision. It was right to do in memory of Pastor Clementa Pinckney and his denominations struggle against racism. It was right to do because of the insensitivity it would have shown to the families of the other eight victims murdered in the massacre. But it goes beyond respect for the lives of the victims.

In my first article, I declared that 2015 summer riots are inevitable unless prayer moves the hand of God. We also concluded that criminal justice reform is one of the bridges to peace that we must focus on in 2015. We will only have long term peace in urban America when a renewed sense of justice is restored to our communities. With all of that in mind, think about this.

This Memorial Day weekend marked a historic uptick in violence in many US cities. Three cities seem to symbolize our national woes the most - Baltimore, Chicago, and Ferguson. In Baltimore 9 people were killed and 29 shot. Chicago marked 12 killed and 44 wounded.

In the midst of the typical theatrics surrounding the 2015 Grammys, few may remember that Christian rapper Lecrae Moore was nominated in the category of Best Rap Performance (for All I Need is You) alongside mainstream industry heavyweights like Kendrick Lamar and Eminem.

I remember seeing pictures of Fidel Castro for nearly 50 years. His image has changed from a black haired, Liam Neeson like figure dressed in combat fatigues to a wizened old man. Todays 88 year-old Castro does not look as dangerous or iron -willed as he did in the past, but very little about the essence of the man has changed.

With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, candidates around the country are scrambling to make their case to voters. Republicanswhose brand has been weakening for at least a decadeare hoping to make big gains, particularly in the Senate. Polls indicate that many races are still tight, so the outcome is far from certain.

Weeks have now passed since black teen Michael Brown was killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in the small town of Ferguson, Missouri. That night, a candlelight vigil to honor Brown became violent, with looting and vandalizing of local businesses resulting in several arrests. Over the next days, numerous outsiders, from national media organizations to groups such as the New Black Panther Party and the Ku Klux Klan, descended on Ferguson. Chaos escalated, and Governor Nixon ordered the National Guard to help restore calm. The Justice Department is conducting an ongoing investigation into the Ferguson police force for possible misconduct and discrimination in Browns death.

Israel seems to be managing the delicate balance of conducting a just war, thus, my prayers are for Israels protection, true freedom for the people caught in the crossfire in Gaza, and our American leadership. If we act justly perhaps future generations will not have the same level of conflict and confusion that we experience today.

Can you imagine a television program airing in America that portrayed Muhammad as a foul-mouthed pothead? Given that earlier this year ABC canceled Alice in Arabiaa show about an Arab-American who goes to live with her grandparents in Saudi Arabiabecause CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) complained that the show relied on stereotypes of Muslims, it seems highly unlikely. Yet Black Jesus the latest reminder that Christianity is the only major religion it is universally permissible to denigratebegan airing August 7 on Adult Swim.